Are the Chicago Bears One of the Biggest Losers of 2024 Free Agency?

The Chicago Bears were expected to have one of the most exciting off seasons of any team in the NFL, but lackluster is the best way to describe what General Manager Ryan Poles accomplished over the past three days. Pro Football Focus awarded the Bears a B- grade on their moves so far and CBS’s Pete Prisco gave them a C. Let’s take a look at what went into these grades.

The Good: Bears Bring Back Jaylon

Almost everyone agrees that this was the best move the Bears front office has made in 2024. Johnson and fans alike had been begging the organization to give him a contract, and when the Bears franchise tagged the star two days before the extension, it seemed as if there would not be a long future for the All-Pro in Chicago. That was until the Bears paid the 24-year-old corner $76 million for another four seasons of service.

Johnson is coming off the best season in his career, where he earned a Pro Bowl nod and Second Team All-Pro honors. He racked up 36 tackles and five total turnovers, scoring a touchdown in the process.

Head coach Matt Eberflus spoke on the importance of keeping Johnson around.

“You have to have veteran presence in the locker room, in your unit room, so those guys help teach, mold and model the behavior of a true pro,” Eberflus told Gabby Hajduk of Chicagobears.com. “It’s great when Jaylon signs a second contract because it’s so important to be able to show the players that if you work hard and you do things right and you lead, you’ll be rewarded.”

Johnson wasn’t the only positive move so far, though. The Bears gave a two-year, $12 million contract to Chargers tight end Gerald Everett. Everett looks to pair well with Cole Kmet in the Shane Waldron offense, who used plenty of two-tight end sets with Everett in both Seattle and Los Angeles.

The Bears also did a little bit of addition by subtraction when they cut safety Eddie Jackson and Center Cody Whitehair to save $21.7 million in cap. Both have been key contributors to the Bears since they were drafted in 2017 and 2016 respectively, but have been injury-prone and non-factors on the field in recent seasons.

The Bad: Settling for Less Than Expected

The Bears have spent some money this offseason, but the players they gave their big paydays to are at not-so-necessary positions, such as running back and safety. While D’Andre Swift and Kevin Byard have been productive in past seasons, there were better options on the market and the Bears were able and should’ve been willing to pay.

Chicago paid Swift $24 million for three years. While that is not an unfair contract for either side, the running back market was one of the most stacked the league has seen in a while. Names like Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and more were all available, but the Bears were the first to strike by signing Swift.

Swift had a good, not great season as member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. He ran for 1049 yards and five touchdowns and earned a Pro Bowl nomination, but his numbers were boosted behind one of the best offensive lines in the league and he was an afterthought in the red zone. He racked up 642 yards before contact and only 41 red zone carries out of his 229 total.

2023 was Swift’s first healthy season in his career and his first season as the feature back in an offense. With the Bears, Swift will most likely retain a lead back role, but may surrender more carries to Roschon Johnson than he did with Kenneth Gainwell in Philly. The Bears offensive line will be young and will need to build some chemistry, so there may be some learning pains for them and Swift.

The Bears also were the first to strike in the safety market, agreeing to terms on a two-year, $15 million dollar contract this past Sunday with Eagles’ safety Kevin Byard. Byard has the resume to back up the team’s signing of him and the Bears were looking for a veteran to lead an extremely young group of talented defensive backs in Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson and the aforementioned Jaylon Johnson.

Byard is also coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. While he had over a hundred tackles, he only had one interception and was a member of one of the worst defensive backfields of the 2023 season. His two All-Pro seasons inspire hope, but it seems Father Time may be creeping in.

With the market flooded with safeties, there were players that were safer options such as Justin Simmons and Xavier McKinney, even if they would have been more expensive.

The Ugly: What the Bears Didn’t Do

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Justin Fields is still a Chicago Bear. Almost everybody expected there to be an answer to who would be playing quarterback for Chicago in 2024 by Wednesday, but we were only left with more questions.

For much of the offseason up to this point, it was expected that Fields would be on a different organization in order to make room for USC star Caleb Williams. It turns out that Fields’ market may be almost completely dry.

Fields is in a strange spot where he hasn’t shown enough to guarantee himself a starting spot in the league, but he also has too much potential and could be worth too much money in contract talks to take him as backup. There has been plenty of quarterback movement this offseason, but its been with players that have more defined roles in the NFL.

As the draft grows closer, there will not only be trade rumors about Fields, but also the for the first overall pick if the Bears can’t unload Fields. Chicago will also be looking for defensive line help in the draft after missing out on the best options in free agency.

The Bears had some of the best options in the league when it comes to defensive lineman and edge rushers. Chris Jones and Christian Wilkins both were available at defensive tackle and Danielle Hunter and Jonathan Greenard were premier possible additions on the edge.

Chris Jones was predicted to always wind up back with Kansas City, but Wilkins, Hunter and Greenard were all heavily linked with Chicago, and the Bears whiffed on them all, that is if they even offered them. The Bears desperately needed help on the defensive line after having an abysmal year until they traded for Montez Sweat at the deadline.

While there are some interesting edge options in this years draft, there isn’t a standout pick at number nine for the Bears. It would’ve been beneficial to fill that need in free agency and focus on other needs that the draft can fill, like offensive line and receiver.

The Bears are expected to be one of the biggest turnaround teams in 2024, but so far free agency doesn’t bode well for improvement.